This invention relates to a device for converting a wheel chair into a walker for the disabled.
It is important to the recovery of the sick and injured that they receive exercise. It is also important to the continued health of the disabled that they receive regular exercise. However, walking a sick or injured or disabled person requires the assistance of at least one, and sometimes two or three persons. Because of a shortage of staff and the cost of such personal attention, the walking of patients is often neglected in health care institutions. Because of insurance problems and the possibility of accidents, the institution's regulations usually prohibit family or friends from walking the patient. In the home, there is usually not enough help to safely walk the patient.
Special therapy equipment is available to exercise the sick or injured or disabled, but this equipment is usually too cumbersome and too expensive for home use. Such equipment also requires trained therapists, and thus because of staffing and cost limitations the equipment is not available to all who could benefit from it. What has been lacking was an inexpensive readily available device to allow a sick or injured or disabled person to walk without assistance and without risk of falling or injury.
The inventor has made a walker that is both inexpensive and readily available. The walker is converted from a wheel chair, which are readily available in health care institutions and in many homes. The walker, however, can be quickly converted back into a wheel chair so that the walker conversion does not impair the use of the wheel chair. The walker can be made from a folding wheel chair so that both devices can be easily stored and transported.
The walker comprises an adjustable seat unit having a base that can be engaged to the wheel chair's seat support. The base is quickly releasable from the wheel chair so that conversion between a wheel chair and a walker is fast and simple. A cushioned seat, having a tapered tongue projecting from its front edge for extending between the user's legs, is positioned immediately below the user's buttocks. The height of the seat relative to the base is adjustable to accomodate various users. The seat is constructed and positioned to allow the user to walk unimpaired but to catch the user should the user stumble and fall. The seat could also be positioned to support the user while the user is attempting to walk.
A generally U-shaped support bar is mounted inverted to the front of the wheel chair, the top of the "U" extending across the front of the wheel chair to provide a support for the user. The height of the support is adjustable so that it can be put in a comfortable position for the user to hold while attempting to walk. The support bar is quickly releasable from the wheel chair so that conversion between a wheel chair and walker is fast and simple.
The walker of this invention provides an inexpensive, safe way for the sick or injured or disabled to walk with minimal assistance and supervision. This frees up health care professionals for other duties and allows the sick or injured or disabled to walk in the home environment where professional assistance is not available. A wheel chair can be quickly and easily converted to a walker, and the walker can be quickly returned to use as a wheel chair. Because the walker utilizes a wheel chair without impairing its function as a wheel chair, the device is relatively inexpensive and thus more widely available, especially for home use. The walker can be used to actually support the user while walking or simply as a safety device to catch the user should he or she fall while walking.